Sodium Cyclamate ? The Side Effects Could Kill! (Apparently)

November 18, 2011

Sodium Cyclamate is a sweetener which is still banned in the US; however it is used in over 100 other countries including the UK. You may be sitting there thinking who is right? Is the US out of date? Is Sodium Cyclamate a dangerous carcinogen? What are the Side Effects of Sodium Cyclamate in Energy Drinks? In this article I hope to show you some facts and history so you can make up your own mind whether you consume Sodium Cyclamate in your diet and if youâ€™re placing your life in danger by doing so.
The Basics â€“ Sodium Cyclamate is a common household sweetener approximately 30 times sweeter than sugar, itâ€™s used a lot due to its relative cheap cost in comparison to other sweeteners. Some people even go as far as believing that the FDA banned Sodium Cyclamate because of the fears the sugar industry would suffer with such a cheap sweetener, I personally donâ€™t hold much confidence for those claims.
Sodium Cyclamate was banned in the USA in 1969 this was after a study done on rats claimed it could cause a range of problems from shrinking the testicles! And being a Carcinogenic! However this study has some points to it that raise questions, such as, 8 out of 240 rats showed these symptoms and all the rats were given an amount of Sodium Cyclamate equivalent to 350 cans of diet soft drinks a day, if you ask me if your drinking that many diet soft drinks every day you have other problems to worry about, also just some food for thought, no studies have ever shown the same effects in humans.
Funnily enough the same month it was banned in the US it was approved in the UK. I guess we donâ€™t trust American research too much. Itâ€™s been this way since then, there have been a few applications for the ban to be removed by the FDA but the last one is now held in abeyance and isnâ€™t actively considered.
In my opinion Sodium Cyclamate is not something to worry about, no other research in any other countries seems to provide any evidence of ill effects and the original research leading to its ban in America is very outdated and pretty controversial at best so my advice is clearly not to worry (unless youâ€™re a rat).